matthon
Well-Known Member
I posted this on FABO in late October and they have helped greatly.
Figured there may be someone on this forum who isn't also on FABO who might be able to help.
Issue: slight vibration, never there for months, now remains constant at any rpm, never gets worse.
Details on everything:
Replaced an existing 318 poly in a 64 Fury that needed a rebuild with a running 318 poly from a 65 Plymouth that was rebuilt a number of years ago. I swapped my valve cover, oil pan and pickup. Motor is extremely clean inside, I painted the outside.
New MSD distributor, coil, starter and relay, voltage regulator, belts hoses, engine mounts, headers/exhaust, etc.
Battery came from another running car I had, alternator was tested and good.
Could not locate a replacement trans mount.
Ran really good, but had a slight hesitation above 50 so I rebuilt the carb, degreased it, carb cleaner, compressed air, and changed the plugs.
Idle mix screws were about 7 turns out when I got it, noticed before I rebuilt carb, part of instructions is to write down number of turns in before disassembling. Once rebuilt, wouldn't run well w/o screws out 7 turns. I thought way too much, plugs were not fouling or blackened, checked multiple times, ran well, didn't smell rich at all or eat gas. I address this and the timing later once I realize the timing mark doesn’t exist on my poly.
With a few adjustments it was running great and driven daily for roughly 2 months.
September 28: checked all plugs, looked good, installed new plugs I purchased earlier anyway.
October 8: pulled plugs to check, looked fine.
October 5: alternator died, I updated another car to an alternator with an internal regulator so I used the alternator from that car, charged battery. Next day drove fine for many hours on a parts run, left it idling for 30 minutes or so. Got home, shut it off, battery spent.
October 6: new battery installed, low on gas, drove to gas station, halfway there wouldn't move, wanted to stall, felt a vibration when it started moving. Made it, needed gas to get back. Ran better by the time I got home. Checked all plugs, pulled wires apart, re-crimped a few to be sure. Checked firing order, started, ran the same, realized I forgot to plug 1 wire in, vibration remained.
This is where the vibration started. Starts right up, idles nice, but has a slight vibration, which is the same at any rpm.
Vibration can be felt best on tops of fenders in front, on top of air cleaner, and sometimes with steering wheel at idle.
Disconnected belts/pulleys, not water pump, disconnected alternator, not alt, not power steering, no knocking noise, no oil in radiator, no metal in oil, pulled valve covers, all pushrods in place. In and out of reverse and drive, trans doesn't budge, mount doesn't move, engine moves a little, rubber mounts new, look fine, bolts tight.
October 25: checked the oil, a little bit of milky, been sitting over a month, ran it, looks fine. Some water comes out the tailpipe at startup, not green, no sweet smell, radiator has been the same level all along.
October 26: drove to work. Ran fine there, horrible on way home. Same with oil and antifreeze.
October 28: drained some oil, no water. Grounded each plug wire, no change from cylinder to cylinder. Noticed new Moroso plug wires were total crap, ordered new ones.
December 15: replaced plug wires. Needed to move it. Fired right up on a freezing cold day.
December 23: adjusted valves based on a thread on fbbo, cold method. All but a few were correct, #7 had zero. Checked oil drains on heads. Discovered I used the wrong base gasket from the kit, it had a few, which was preventing the PCV from working. Engine runs so well, starts no problem, sounds great, vibration.
December 29: put correct carb base gasket on, PCV works fine. Started fine, idles fine, oil looks good. Pulled all plugs, all black. I knew it was rich, but have checked replaced a few times, always looked good, probably from being rich and only been idling lately. Began compression test, per instructions, warm up engine to test, disconnected coil, open carb butterflies, crank same amount for all. Starting with odd at #1, 120, 120, 110, battery died, really, new a few months ago. Had to get back to family time so stuck the charger on it.
December 30: back to it today, cold engine, but did all starting with odd at #1, 150, 150, 145, 150, starting with #2, 145, 150, 140, 150. Pulled valve cover to help find #1 tdc. There is a timing tab on the cover, but balancer does not have a timing mark. Apparently this is the case with some polys. I have 3 polys, 2 have no mark, one has no balancer. Not a later balancer, not 180 off. Found tdc, set it to 10dg btdc for initial start, same as when I originally started engine. Rotor exactly on #1 at 10 dg btdc.
January 1: gap new plugs to .035, installed tach, set balancer mark to 10dg btdc, set rotor to #1 cylinder, reset idle mix screws to 2 1/2 out, pulled top of carb off and checked float level, cranked engine to make sure needle was closing, has clear fuel filter. Realized vacuum advance was connected to manifold vacuum on carb, moved to ported. Adjusted distributor to get to 10dg btdc at 600 rpm, put it in drive, reverse, idle dropped but was ok, no hint of stalling.
Drove it. Did great, ran great, sounded great, headers/dual exhaust, no issues at stop lights, didn't smell, shut down instantly, started perfect. Didn't mess with the idle mix screws at all, no more 7 turns out to keep it running. Came home a few times to check trans fluid, oil, bolts, etc. Took it back out, thoroughly enjoying it. At this point, I’ve somehow forgotten to even check for a vibration.
Decided to do a little interior work, make it look nicer.
30 mins later, started, idles much lower and quickly stalls in park or neutral, forget drive. Shaking, sounds horrible, smells worse, adjusted carb, etc, nothing works. Checked for vacuum leaks, none. Disconnected heater vacuum, heater/defroster doors run off manifold vacuum, nothing. Pinched fuel line to run it dry thinking maybe something was stuck in needle/seat because it smelled so bad, nothing.
Pulled 2 plugs both half black half white, brand new white. Unable to find info on this scenario.
January 6: Set #1 tdc compression, removed valve cover to make sure, set distributor/rotor to #1, cleaned up cap and rotor, checked/cleaned up coil wires, checked all plug wires are clicked on all the way.
Started, let warm up, advanced timing to 10dg btdc, set idle to about 700 rpm, checked timing reset to 10dg, ended up running best at around 12-13dg. Set idle mixture using vacuum gauge hooked to manifold vacuum on carb. Checked idle in drive and reverse. Double checked timing, tightened up distributor, took for a ride. Runs good, not much different than last time.
Changed coil to the exact same coil, brand new coil I just received for another car, no difference. Checked water pump, alternator, power steering pump, again, no issues. A little valve chatter at higher rpm when driving, nothing major, very small adjustments to timing and idle solved it.
Ran extremely well, really well, nothing new there, but that vibration. Vibration is more obvious, if that is the correct term, seems more prevalent at the right front, passenger side.
I was holding a small long screwdriver leaning on the passenger fender and noticed the upper horn vibrating, then I noticed the screwdriver in my hand vibrating at the same frequency.
Put a big long screwdriver to the fuel pump, not vibrating or knocking.
Checked, tightened, changed, replaced everything, fixed a tranny leak at the kickdown, put new floor mats in, nothing!
Everything works, except the clock, trans goes into gear and shifts great, solid car.
The vibration started after the battery died, ran great, shut off, battery dead, replaced, ran like crap. The only thing I did before working on interior was to disconnect the battery so the interior light wouldn't burn the lens up.
I can't find anyone, professional or otherwise, who can either take the time to work on an old car, can figure out the issue, or even believes there is an issue.
Slight vibration, never there for months, now remains constant at any rpm, never gets worse.
Figured there may be someone on this forum who isn't also on FABO who might be able to help.
Issue: slight vibration, never there for months, now remains constant at any rpm, never gets worse.
Details on everything:
Replaced an existing 318 poly in a 64 Fury that needed a rebuild with a running 318 poly from a 65 Plymouth that was rebuilt a number of years ago. I swapped my valve cover, oil pan and pickup. Motor is extremely clean inside, I painted the outside.
New MSD distributor, coil, starter and relay, voltage regulator, belts hoses, engine mounts, headers/exhaust, etc.
Battery came from another running car I had, alternator was tested and good.
Could not locate a replacement trans mount.
Ran really good, but had a slight hesitation above 50 so I rebuilt the carb, degreased it, carb cleaner, compressed air, and changed the plugs.
Idle mix screws were about 7 turns out when I got it, noticed before I rebuilt carb, part of instructions is to write down number of turns in before disassembling. Once rebuilt, wouldn't run well w/o screws out 7 turns. I thought way too much, plugs were not fouling or blackened, checked multiple times, ran well, didn't smell rich at all or eat gas. I address this and the timing later once I realize the timing mark doesn’t exist on my poly.
With a few adjustments it was running great and driven daily for roughly 2 months.
September 28: checked all plugs, looked good, installed new plugs I purchased earlier anyway.
October 8: pulled plugs to check, looked fine.
October 5: alternator died, I updated another car to an alternator with an internal regulator so I used the alternator from that car, charged battery. Next day drove fine for many hours on a parts run, left it idling for 30 minutes or so. Got home, shut it off, battery spent.
October 6: new battery installed, low on gas, drove to gas station, halfway there wouldn't move, wanted to stall, felt a vibration when it started moving. Made it, needed gas to get back. Ran better by the time I got home. Checked all plugs, pulled wires apart, re-crimped a few to be sure. Checked firing order, started, ran the same, realized I forgot to plug 1 wire in, vibration remained.
This is where the vibration started. Starts right up, idles nice, but has a slight vibration, which is the same at any rpm.
Vibration can be felt best on tops of fenders in front, on top of air cleaner, and sometimes with steering wheel at idle.
Disconnected belts/pulleys, not water pump, disconnected alternator, not alt, not power steering, no knocking noise, no oil in radiator, no metal in oil, pulled valve covers, all pushrods in place. In and out of reverse and drive, trans doesn't budge, mount doesn't move, engine moves a little, rubber mounts new, look fine, bolts tight.
October 25: checked the oil, a little bit of milky, been sitting over a month, ran it, looks fine. Some water comes out the tailpipe at startup, not green, no sweet smell, radiator has been the same level all along.
October 26: drove to work. Ran fine there, horrible on way home. Same with oil and antifreeze.
October 28: drained some oil, no water. Grounded each plug wire, no change from cylinder to cylinder. Noticed new Moroso plug wires were total crap, ordered new ones.
December 15: replaced plug wires. Needed to move it. Fired right up on a freezing cold day.
December 23: adjusted valves based on a thread on fbbo, cold method. All but a few were correct, #7 had zero. Checked oil drains on heads. Discovered I used the wrong base gasket from the kit, it had a few, which was preventing the PCV from working. Engine runs so well, starts no problem, sounds great, vibration.
December 29: put correct carb base gasket on, PCV works fine. Started fine, idles fine, oil looks good. Pulled all plugs, all black. I knew it was rich, but have checked replaced a few times, always looked good, probably from being rich and only been idling lately. Began compression test, per instructions, warm up engine to test, disconnected coil, open carb butterflies, crank same amount for all. Starting with odd at #1, 120, 120, 110, battery died, really, new a few months ago. Had to get back to family time so stuck the charger on it.
December 30: back to it today, cold engine, but did all starting with odd at #1, 150, 150, 145, 150, starting with #2, 145, 150, 140, 150. Pulled valve cover to help find #1 tdc. There is a timing tab on the cover, but balancer does not have a timing mark. Apparently this is the case with some polys. I have 3 polys, 2 have no mark, one has no balancer. Not a later balancer, not 180 off. Found tdc, set it to 10dg btdc for initial start, same as when I originally started engine. Rotor exactly on #1 at 10 dg btdc.
January 1: gap new plugs to .035, installed tach, set balancer mark to 10dg btdc, set rotor to #1 cylinder, reset idle mix screws to 2 1/2 out, pulled top of carb off and checked float level, cranked engine to make sure needle was closing, has clear fuel filter. Realized vacuum advance was connected to manifold vacuum on carb, moved to ported. Adjusted distributor to get to 10dg btdc at 600 rpm, put it in drive, reverse, idle dropped but was ok, no hint of stalling.
Drove it. Did great, ran great, sounded great, headers/dual exhaust, no issues at stop lights, didn't smell, shut down instantly, started perfect. Didn't mess with the idle mix screws at all, no more 7 turns out to keep it running. Came home a few times to check trans fluid, oil, bolts, etc. Took it back out, thoroughly enjoying it. At this point, I’ve somehow forgotten to even check for a vibration.
Decided to do a little interior work, make it look nicer.
30 mins later, started, idles much lower and quickly stalls in park or neutral, forget drive. Shaking, sounds horrible, smells worse, adjusted carb, etc, nothing works. Checked for vacuum leaks, none. Disconnected heater vacuum, heater/defroster doors run off manifold vacuum, nothing. Pinched fuel line to run it dry thinking maybe something was stuck in needle/seat because it smelled so bad, nothing.
Pulled 2 plugs both half black half white, brand new white. Unable to find info on this scenario.
January 6: Set #1 tdc compression, removed valve cover to make sure, set distributor/rotor to #1, cleaned up cap and rotor, checked/cleaned up coil wires, checked all plug wires are clicked on all the way.
Started, let warm up, advanced timing to 10dg btdc, set idle to about 700 rpm, checked timing reset to 10dg, ended up running best at around 12-13dg. Set idle mixture using vacuum gauge hooked to manifold vacuum on carb. Checked idle in drive and reverse. Double checked timing, tightened up distributor, took for a ride. Runs good, not much different than last time.
Changed coil to the exact same coil, brand new coil I just received for another car, no difference. Checked water pump, alternator, power steering pump, again, no issues. A little valve chatter at higher rpm when driving, nothing major, very small adjustments to timing and idle solved it.
Ran extremely well, really well, nothing new there, but that vibration. Vibration is more obvious, if that is the correct term, seems more prevalent at the right front, passenger side.
I was holding a small long screwdriver leaning on the passenger fender and noticed the upper horn vibrating, then I noticed the screwdriver in my hand vibrating at the same frequency.
Put a big long screwdriver to the fuel pump, not vibrating or knocking.
Checked, tightened, changed, replaced everything, fixed a tranny leak at the kickdown, put new floor mats in, nothing!
Everything works, except the clock, trans goes into gear and shifts great, solid car.
The vibration started after the battery died, ran great, shut off, battery dead, replaced, ran like crap. The only thing I did before working on interior was to disconnect the battery so the interior light wouldn't burn the lens up.
I can't find anyone, professional or otherwise, who can either take the time to work on an old car, can figure out the issue, or even believes there is an issue.
Slight vibration, never there for months, now remains constant at any rpm, never gets worse.
